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iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

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Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#61

Post by latexr »

vachina wrote: post #20
Y-bar wrote: post #9

Three months ago a commenter here on HN claimed to me that this will be bad for Apple users: > There is simply no good way to make the API public while maintaining the performance and quality expectations that Apple consumers have. If the third party device doesn’t work people will blame Apple even though it’s not their fault. And, competition probably can’t build for it anyway: > It’s impossible to build Apple Silic…

[flagged]

Apple used to brag that “it just works”. That included peripherals it did not control. Nowadays, it can’t even have its own devices work correctly.

Apple has stopped improving long ago, and it’s not regulation that’s at fault.

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#62

Post by wltr »

aprilnya wrote: post #55
rikafurude21 wrote: post #45

Recently bought an apple watch for my mom and got it set up with her iphone. Almost instantly she notices that she cant accept WhatsApp calls on her watch, and after looking into it I found out that it was another one of those apple things where they assume youre obviously using facetime so that functionality isnt available for any other app. For context, in europe Whatsapp is the dominating messaging app and alot of…

Huh, with CallKit’s existence I would have assumed any app using CallKit would work on Watch…

I was genuinely sure it’s not a problem, as I personally know quite a few people who do that. But I think they use either FaceTime or regular cellular. That’s sure weird a simple call does work in iPhone 4S (imagine a price for it in 2026), but doesn’t on modern Apple Watch Ultra, which is quite expensive.

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#63

Post by Y-bar »

hopelite wrote: post #52
stavros wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't understand people who defend Apple on this. The only reason I can imagine is that they're shareholders who don't use any Apple products, or shareholders who use exclusively Apple products and can't understand what sort of poor scrub might want an accessory not made by them.

[flagged]

> I don’t see it as a matter of defending Apple, it’s really a matter of technical understanding and competence.

So do I. And my >20 years in the business gives me the experience and knowledge to see through Apple’s FUD.

> […] but also wanting to benefit from all the work and focus that went into creating it, is understandable to me.

It is my device. I paid for it. If Apple thinks they deserve more money for what they did they are free to ask me, the customer, for more money.

> […] unelected bureaucratic despots

Aha, the dog whistle of the AfD brand of conspiratorial bullshit ”unelected” nonsense! Career bureaucracy is supposed to be certified and educated, not elected, because that is the only way they can properly implement the laws of the electorate. Bureaucracy still answers to elected officials, but they are supposed to act without political interference and provide specialist knowledge. For the same reason you do not vote on every captain and colonel in the military hierarchy, or every tax collector/auditor in your IRS equivalent, you do not vote on every bureaucrat in the Commission tasked to execute and implement law.

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#64

Post by latexr »

hu3 wrote: post #16
Otek wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The side loading stuff I can understand to restrict to the EU Just curious: why do you understand they restrict it to EU?

It's pretty clear isn't it? They do so with third-party app stores. And if they wanted to have airpods-like pairing to third-parties in US, they would already have. The only reason they might bring this to US is customers will be royally pissed.

> It's pretty clear isn't it?

If it were, they wouldn’t be asking. And you haven’t answered it either. Your parent comment is asking why the grandparent commenter thinks it makes sense to restrict third-party stores to the EU instead of having them everywhere.

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#65

Post by quitit »

jwr wrote: post #36

I have no doubt that Gruber will find reasons why the EU is bad and regulation is bad. At this point it's rather amusing how Daring Fireball (and many other American media) rants against regulation, and in another post complains about how companies exploit users. Regulation is unfortunately necessary: the market isn't as magical as we would like it to be and competition is not a magic wand that makes everything good…

I don't think it's as black and white as you suggest.

He just wrote about Japan's implementation of a similar set of laws rather favourably - the theme is that Japan's implementation looks very much like a genuine attempt at protecting users and benefitting end users and developers.

While I don't agree with what a lot of what Gruber has to say. A point I do agree with is that the DMA is being sold (by Margrethe Vestager, Thierry Breton and Ursula von der Leyer) as a set of consumer protections, when it's plainly not that, and in some clear ways does the opposite.

There's also persistent transparency questions like why the EU has excessive meetings with Spotify, or why there is not a "music" gatekeeper in the DMA, or the requirement to easily move music libraries between music services - things that would actually help consumers and prevent genuine lock in.

(Note this isn't to excuse the behaviour of big tech.)

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#66

Post by Y-bar »

blell wrote: post #51
stavros wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't understand people who defend Apple on this. The only reason I can imagine is that they're shareholders who don't use any Apple products, or shareholders who use exclusively Apple products and can't understand what sort of poor scrub might want an accessory not made by them.

[flagged]

> always ends up catastrophically.

Government intervention like forbidding led-based paints or asbestos in homes? Or government intervention like doing something about the ozone depletion? Government intervention like forbidding roaming fees? Intervention like requiring 3-point seat belts? Like progressive taxation? Like forbidding discrimination based on skin colour? Like air travel safety? Like a max ceiling on credit card fees?

Always?

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#67

Post by latexr »

pzo wrote: post #33
Someone wrote: post #27

FTA: “The changes to proximity pairing and notifications are only available for device makers […] in the European Union.” Will that mean we’ll see some last step assembly move into the EU, or does it only require legal presence?

Yeah this would be weird if it's only for EU based companies. I think apple strategy is overall 'divide and conquer' making all different stuff working different in EU, Japan, UK, US. To this already many variables also if the user has account in EU and also if is living in EU or for how long. Their whole compliance is not robust and reliable making this in fact dead on arrival. Any maker relying on this will have mo…

> I think apple strategy is overall 'divide and conquer'

I think Tim Cook’s strategy is rather “hoard and extract as much money as legally possible, no matter what it does to the experience”. Selling tech products is no different to him than selling car parts of frozen meat. What matters to him is the pile of money at the end.

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#68

Post by vachina »

latexr wrote: post #61
vachina wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Apple used to brag that “it just works”. That included peripherals it did not control. Nowadays, it can’t even have its own devices work correctly. Apple has stopped improving long ago, and it’s not regulation that’s at fault.

I was unconvinced till I switched my devices, one by one, to Apple products a few years ago. They really do just work, especially with specification abiding devices.

Everything else feels flakey.

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#69

Post by latexr »

saubeidl wrote: post #21
matthewcanty wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just realised I’m not in the EU (from UK). There was me thinking about digging my old Garmin out!

You guys are always welcome to rejoin once you figure your drama out. We miss you, British Friends <3

Considering how aggressive they’ve been about internet legislation lately, mandating age checks and asking companies to give them keys to encrypted data, I think I’d rather them not rejoin just yet, we don’t need another country trying to force Chat Control and making it worse.

Re: iOS 26.3 brings AirPods-like pairing to third-party devices in EU under DMA

#70

Post by hollow-moe »

Got a MacBook for work recently, paired it to my AirPods I had for months, and it was funny noticing you could enable FindMy for them from the settings but they wouldn't show up in my devices on the map. Indeed, for this you need to pair with an iPhone or iPad. However it did enable the beacon on the airpods as the next day AirGuard notified a device was following me. And since, I can't disable it, the switch in the settings doesn't disable the beacon AirGuard still detects them. Even within their ecosystem they'll punish you for not being fully "part of the familly".
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